We recently attended a cooking class at Sur La Table, and only two couples were enrolled, which…read moremade for a much more personal experience. The facility was clean, and our instructor, Tim, was great--knowledgeable and full of pro tips. Unfortunately, the experience after the class was disappointing. After paying $109 per person, we were surprised to find that we had to stand while eating the meal we had just prepared. We also were not allowed to take any leftovers home. We've attended several cooking classes in Chicago as well as other cities, and every one of them provided seating so guests could comfortably enjoy their meal, as well as take-home containers for leftovers. Not allowing guests to take food home seems unnecessarily wasteful. It's difficult not to wonder whether the leftovers simply end up being discarded or eaten by staff. For the price of the class, providing chairs and take-home containers seems like a reasonable expectation. While Tim and the quality of the instruction were excellent, these two policies significantly detracted from the overall experience. Unfortunately, because of these inconveniences, we won't be attending another Sur La Table cooking class.

Please do yourself a favor and go book a cooking class right now! You'll have a lovely few hours…read moreand enjoy delicous food, all while learning something new! I took a few business clients for a night of pasta making and on top of all the new pasta knowledge we gained, we truly had such a fun time. They are byob, which is very convenient, and ther is more than enough food to enjoy it at the end of the class. Shoutout to Eric who was such an engaging, fun, and knowledgeable instructor! The store was also very beautiful and has all of your kitchen needs!

We bought a gift certificate for an open class before Covid and they canceled all open classes once…read morethey reopened. We were not able to return for a refund.

Excellent evening! We came here on a date (and the where and what were surprises to me). Chef Dom…read morewas warm and welcoming, in addition to being professional and fun. We started out with some hummus and crostini. We were glad to have snacks since it was about an hour and a half until we sat down to eat. By the way, you can bring your own wine! They have nice glasses and a wine opener to us. The also sell some; the Cab we had was only $20 and was quite good. There were only 5 of us, plus chef. It was great since we all got to do more and hear better than with a normal larger group. Our Southern menu consisted of collard greens with pancetta, skillet jalapeno-cheddar cornbread, mustard potatoes with onions, and the most amazing flank steak + tomato chutney. Seriously, I'm still mentally drooling over this chutney! I can't wait to make it again! For dessert, lemon curd mousse. Delicious It was really nice to have our actual meal at a dinner table that was thoughtfully decorated and put together (versus in the kitchen around the stainless steel). We really had an amazing night and loved learning some new skills, recipes, and flavors. Looking forward to going back for a different menu!

This tavern pizza class was better than my expectations. I have been following them on Instagram…read morefor a couple of yrs and have always wanted to attend a class. Finally my schedule lined up with theirs. And tavern pizza too. My favorite. Set in a 50's diner and filled with vintage things, it's a real time warp. Very retro and very cool. The class was so much fun and I learned some new tips and some great recipes. The pizza recipe of course, but also the appetizers they served. It's byob or wine but I just drank the sparkling water that was provided. They're a bit pricey. The tavern pizza class was $143 a person, but other classes run higher. It was well worth the money to me though. I can't wait to take another class Come hungry and ready to eat

Took a sourdough class here and it was awesome! "Baker Bettie" is a fantastic teacher and was nice…read moreeven when I asked dumb questions. The science behind sourdough and how much you can do with just water and flour is very interesting. The lunch they served was nice and there were plenty of beverage options. I'd do another class here!

Awesome idea for a team offsite!…read more I had the pleasure of learning from Leo during a team offsite. Leo is incredibly talented, fun, and knows how to give the people what they want! A team of 3 made paella as the main dish. While it cooked, Leo set up 3 appetizer stations and we broke into teams to prepare those (and eat!) while the paella cooked. We all had a great time, left very full, and Leo was sure to treat us right with her signature sangria ;) 10/10 - would do again. Thank you, Leo!

From the owner: The most authentic recipes in Chicago.read more

I'm no Chef and it'd be a cold day in hell before anyone considered me a 'foodie' but I'll be…read moredamned if I'm going to turn down the opportunity to attend what I know to be Chicago's best kept (practically) secret culinary event. This was my second year attending this astoundingly intimate educational course and tasting event hosted by Rick Bayless himself with help from a handful of renowned Chefs that changes each year from Mexico, NYC, and Chicago as back-up. The once a year event takes place at Kendall College and utilizes one of their extraordinary demo classrooms with auditorium-style seating, as well as a large banquet area where post-demos you get to taste all of the demo recipes and drink yourself silly with some very strong and very scientific cocktails. My Dad is a big Bayless fan, so he does all the legwork to secure tickets to this event, which are unbelievably nominal for an event of this caliber, which runs a full 8-hours from breakfast, to demos, to tasting, to Q&A and only holds somewhere between 75-100 people with everyone leaving with comfortably full stomachs and a delightful buzz (and then some) from the booze. The basic concept of the event is simple: "Four chefs. Four styles. One cuisine. At this friendly face-off, each chef defends his vision of Mexican cooking while the event emcee referees. Includes food, beverages, cooking demonstrations, tastings of tequila, wines and more!" As previously noted, I'm no Chef. I'm often scrutinized as the worst cook in the world, constantly have my everyday diet compared to that of an 8-year-old boy, and since living on my own I'd estimate that on average I consistently give myself food poisoning 4.5 times a week. In a few years I will have developed either the foremost or most fragile immune system in North America. This information is relevant because even though I have no interest and get no joy from cooking, I always manage to stay glued to the presenters, techniques, anecdotal stories, and of course the food and beverage prepared by each of the Chefs, Mixologists, and brands represented at the event. This event appeals to all. In addition to getting to learn a thing or two and eat and drinks all the goodies, you get meet all the Chefs and moving parts involved, take pics, and in some cases you're even personally served by the Chef himself, which is an honor that none should take lightly. The cost of the event is almost unbelievable. The first I'd guess around 75-80 people were there for the demos through to the tastings and I was told that was the sold out event. This year, shockingly, the event didn't sell out and when the demos began that morning there were maybe 60 people there, all getting this one-on-one face time with every Chef and vendor. The cost of the event the first year was (are you sitting down? Because you aren't going to believe me when I tell you).... $75 a person. The cost this year was slightly elevated at $95 a person, but still grossly below market value given the full day of demos, world-class food, drinks, and getting to meet culinary genius' at work in an intimate and relaxed environment. (and I'll be real, I never wrote a review of this before because I wanted to be sure I could secure a ticket for myself in the following years, and only now that I've moved out of state do I feel comfortable enough to share this opportunity to the masses... or like maybe 4 people who glance at my writes. The first year's event was nothing short of spectacular and yet they still found ways to improve and blow it out of the water with this year's event, this time emceed my WGN's Ana Belaval, who was a great addition and obviously impressed Chef Bayless to almost beyond words with her seamless segues and constant but warranted stream of comments, questions, and general banter. I wouldn't be surprised if she became a constant for this event in the future given the level she took the event to in 2014. The 2013 line-up was as follows... Rick Bayless (Frontera, Chicago) Alex Stupak (Empellón, NYC) Carlos Gaytan (Mexique, Chicago) Jorge Vallejo (Quintonil, Mexico City) Emcee: Peter Sagal, of NPR's Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Jordan Johnston (Frontera mixologist, Chicago) Wahaka Espadin Joven mezcal Wines of Mexico The 2014 line-up was as follows... Rick Bayless Curtis Duffy (Grace - Chicago) Fany Gerson (La Newyorkina, NYC) Pablo Salas (Amaranta Restaurant, Mexico City) Dave Arnold (Booker and Dax -cocktails, NYC) Joseph Mortera (Cocktail developer, Mexico City) Jay Schroeder (Frontera mixologist, Chicago) Emcee Ana Belaval, of WGN The caliber of this annual event is nothing short of impeccable, full of moments made into memories with a robust cast of colorful culinary characters and priced so modestly that I felt it totally reasonable to fly back to Chicago from San Francisco for the weekend, just to attend this event. Worth every penny, plane, train, and automobile it took to get to Mod Mex with Rick Bayless.

Clara has cooked for my family and I several times since I had a baby in October. We are so pleased…read morewith her food. It is both delicious and healthy - plus we LOVE her Korean cuisine! She can accommodate any request we have. My sister is GF and nephew has nut allergies - she can adapt our menu to meet these dietary restrictions with ease whenever they are visiting. She is also fast in the kitchen which is much appreciated, always leaves the kitchen spotless and is such a sweetheart to interact with and have in our home. Highly recommended!

Clara was the perfect addition to our friend's 30th birthday party! She was extremely…read moreaccommodating to our many dietary restrictions and the food she prepared was absolutely wonderful. Her communication leading up to our dinner was extremely helpful in choosing the menu, time & the cost was very reasonable. We would love to have her again!

Bridget is awesome. I was looking for a personal chef to come and teach 12 girls to cook for my…read moresister's surprise party. Bridget got back to me promptly and was very sweet and helpful. We were able to come up with a good menu and time. Although the day of we realized there was a big misunderstanding that could have ruined the entire party agreement. Bridget reassured me she could adjust and make it a good evening. She was a saint to do this for me and showed an impressive level of professionalism. She drove down to the south side from way, way up north in a snow storm and arrived promptly with groceries. She had good interaction with my guest and put on a great interactive demo in the TINIEST kitchen around. She even had all the recipes in folders for each guest to take home AND aprons for everyone to wear. Overall, she did a great job. I am already considering her for another party in the future.

Femme du Coupe was the highlight of the Bachelorette party that I planned recently. Revae was a…read morepleasure to work with and made it a really fun and special experience for everyone, especially the bride. She met us at the hotel we were at and brought all the ingredients for all 8 of us to make cocktails. I gave all the girls a rundown of the evenings activities beforehand but somehow most of them didn't realize we were all going to get to make our own cocktails, not just watch Revae and listen to her tell us about them. Needless to say, we had a blast. It was such a fun way to get our evening started. I highly suggest eating a good dinner beforehand - the cocktails are no joke! Thanks Revae!

Revae did a private cocktail class for my bachelorette party. I loved it! All the other girls…read morecouldn't stop raving about it. We had a great time. The cocktails were delicious, easy to make, and we received the recipes so that we can make them at home. It was also exciting to see one of the cocktails we made on the menu at Homestead which Femme du Coupe created =) Revae has such a passion for what she does and it comes through; I would recommend her for any event.

I don't know that I can properly find the exact words to describe my experience with Kirk and his…read morestaff. He was exceptional and the food was absolutely delicious. This was thee best experience I've had with a personal chef. No details were missed. If you are looking for a professional chef and good authentic quality food. Stop here. My guest were all smiles and every dish was absolutely amazing!

Chef Kirk and team are simply amazing, he came in and produced. A phenomenal menu with food, and…read moreprofessionalism. I will definitely use his services again.

This year, with additional vacation time, I decided to plan our very first trip to Asia. Being…read moreseasoned travelers, we usually plan our own trips. However, since this was our first time visiting this part of the world, I enlisted the help of Deni at Windy City Travel. This was a three-week trip for my whole family across Singapore, Bali, and Vietnam. Deni assisted us in crafting a well-structured itinerary, booked very professional guides for some of our day trips, and offered excellent advice on where to stay and which sights to prioritize in each country. The suggested hotels in each city were all top-notch and ideally located. I'm happy to say our trip was amazing. Our kids loved it, and my wife kept commenting on how smoothly everything went and how well-planned it was. I highly recommend Deni and Windy City Travel and look forward to booking more trips with them in the future!

We finally did it! Our family trip to Europe. Our boys are big history buffs like my husband and…read moreasked for a trip to Europe to visit specific sites/locations they chose. We decided to start planning and quickly realized we were over our heads. We found Windy City by searching online. Dana did an amazing job of listening to our wants/needs while guiding us to make wise choices as we went along. It was a terrific trip that we will never forget and we are on to planning our next two trips with her already.